independence: A MacGyver Story
by judybear236
Summary: Mac's vacation is interrupted (What's a vacation anyway?) when Elly asks him to help find her great-uncle. Simple, right? - But remember, this is MacGyver!
1. Chapter 1

Independence: A MacGyver Story, Chapter 1

(MacGyver POV)

"Good morning…" said a sleepy voice next to me., startling me into full wakefulness until I remembered…

_Elly!_ "Good morning!" _Would I ever get used to having someone else share my bed with me? _She rolled over so we could snuggle together. I hoped I never had to get used to an empty bed again. Feeling her soft skin, and soft, curly hair, and smelling the fragrance of her skin. She certainly woke up all my senses. And from the look in her eyes, I'd guess I was having the same effect on her.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"Mhm… what for?"

She giggled (_I loved to hear her giggle)_, "Oh, for lots of things… but right now, for being you, being who you are, being so very sweet… and for convincing me to come for a visit – to see Uncle Peter – even though he isn't here."

Now it was my turn to giggle, "Well, that wasn't exactly the plan. I had no idea that he was supposed to be at a conference in Switzerland this week."

"Mhm," she replied, giving me a sidelong glance and a smirk. "You're sure you didn't know?" she asked, tracing my jaw line with a finger.

"Well…" I grinned, remembering a mention of a meeting he needed to go to…"Yeah, there was something about going somewhere , but he told me not to worry about it," and I pulled her even closer to me, "since I was on vacation and all." I gave her a kiss before asking, "So, what shall we do today?"

_There was that giggle again_, "We have to do something?"

"As much as I'd love to stay here all day," and I gave her another kiss, "I do need to get to the post office and get some groceries, and…"

My next words were muffled by her kiss and soon we were both giggling.

"Dibs on the shower!" she exclaimed, jumping out of bed and heading for the bathroom, still giggling.

"Hey!" I shouted after her, "Unfair!" before grabbing a pair of jeans and slipping into them and chuckling. _ It just felt so good to be interacting with her, I couldn't help but grin._ "I'll get some breakfast started!" and I slid down the curved banister of the stairway (_haven't done that in years!)_, landing precisely in front of the refrigerator. We were staying at my houseboat – for financial reasons … well, that and because Elly had fallen in love with the place as soon as she'd seen it. She was tickled to think that people actually _lived _ on the water year-round! I had just finished making a breakfast smoothie when I heard her call, "All yours! I'll be in the bedroom … getting dressed."

I grinned to myself, "Yes, Ma'am!" and bounded up the stairs to use the tiny bathroom – these houseboats are not known for being spacious! When I got out of the shower, I heard Elly call up from downstairs, "What is this stuff?"

"Hang on! I'll be right down.." and I slipped back into my jeans and a T-shirt before sliding back down the banister. She greeted me at the bottom with open arms and a kiss. "We'll never even get breakfast at this rate!"… which brought on the expected giggle from her, only deeper in her throat, sort of buttery.

"OK," I declared breaking away from her. "We have tofu and raw egg smoothie…" and when she started making a face, I added, "with banana, strawberries and honey!" I poured some into glasses for each of us and took a swig to show her that it was edible.

She took a taste and scowled at it, then took another taste and raised her eyebrows, "This is actually good!"

She had such a surprised look on her face I couldn't help but chuckle. "You have a moustache!"

She leaned over and gave me a wet kiss, "So do you!" and there were more giggles.

I warmed up some oat bran muffins she had brought along and set some dandelion coffee on the table for us.

At the post office I found a letter from my brother in Minnesota and we got to talking about relatives. Elly mentioned that she had a great-uncle out that way, somewhere in Michigan. Seems they were trying to commit him to a home for the elderly, but he was not co-operating with them.

"I'm kind of worried about him," she told me. "I mean, if he can evade being placed in an institution, he isn't that unable to take care of himself, right?" She looked at me hopefully.

"Makes sense… Let me guess: you want to do something about it." I raised my eyebrows in question and slowly walked toward her, stalking her. I'd been cleaning up from our breakfast and was carrying the towel behind me. I got close enough to her to wrap the towel around behind her and pull her close, like a papoose. "Yes?"

She made cow eyes at me, "Could we? You wouldn't mind?"

"Well… Pete won't be back for a few more days. We could go and see what this is all about?"

This prompted her to give me a big hug, which prompted me to grin like a fool, which prompted her to plant a big kiss right in the middle of my foolish grin… which prompted me to take her in my arms and swing her around in a circle. This had the hoped-for effect of making her recreate that wonderful sound – giggling! It was a bona-fide chain reaction!

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So that's how it starts. Read and Review, if you like.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Teal Lake, Michigan turned out to be a small town at the foot of a very large, patchily wooded hill. Now, according to Elly's mom, Elly's grandfather had grown up here in this town, back in the forties, along with two brothers and a sister. All but one brother had moved away, married, and eventually passed on, leaving him with the family property. He was the last of them still living.

We found her cousin's house, a typical two-story home, painted white with flowers all around it and looking much like all the others on the street. A woman about the same age as Elly, tall and with a strong build, but kind blue eyes, answered the door, "Hello! How can I help you?" There was a slight, soft way she had of speaking… almost a trace of an accent, but not one I could place.

I let Elly do the talking, since they were her relatives, after all. "Hello!" she answered. "We're looking for Richard Thompson. Is this where he lives?"

She seemed wary of us, "In regard to what, exactly?" (_She seemed suddenly fierce, definitely NOT someone I'd like to get onto the wrong side of!)_

Elly smiled and reached out her hand, "My name is Elly Johnson, his grand-niece."

"Oh, my! Hello!.. and Welcome!" she said extending her own hand and ushering us inside. "Come on in! How long will you be staying? Gramps will be so excited to meet you!... And this is…?"

"Oh! I'm sorry! This is my good friend, MacGyver." I shook her hand with a slight grin. She had a surprisingly strong grip, as if she was a hard worker.

"Pleased to meet you, Ma'am," I said, glancing around. "Nice place you have here."

"Oh! Thank you! Do have a seat… And my name is Karen Thompson. Um, can I get you anything? Some coffee? Tea? I'm sure we have some pastries or cookies to offer you…" and on she went, fussing over us as it she'd never had visitors before this.

Once we were settled with tea and some pastries, Karen finally sat down with us, asking, "So what brings you here?"

Elly took a deep breath before starting, "I'd heard about the trouble you were having with Richard and … "

"It's Rick, not Richard. Just Rick," she said with a patient smile.

"Rick, yes, well, we were wondering if there was some way we might help?"

"Oh, well, I really don't see how. You see, I am engaged to be married and Stuart, my fiancé, wants us to move to Minneapolis, where his office is located. But that would leave Gramps here all by himself, so we thought moving him to a senior facility would give him a safe environment to live in."

This was starting to sound a little … off. I'd heard nothing of Rick's point of view in this undertaking of theirs, so I had to ask, "Excuse me? What does Rick think of this idea?"

"Well, he doesn't think much of it – or of Stuart for that matter. He's getting up in years, and has some sort of lung disease that he refuses to see a doctor about, and he gets quite defensive whenever either of us bring the matter up."

"I'd like to meet him, since we've come all this way…" Elly pressed, but Karen deflected the request by asking,

"I'm sorry! I failed to ask where you are from?"

"I'm from Wisconsin, and Mac is from California"

"Well, sort of. I'm originally from Minnesota." I filled in as briefly as I could in order to get back to Elly's point.

"Gramps usually spends most of his time either fishing or out in the garden. Let me see if he's out there," Karen said, leaving the room.

_If he spends his time out of doors, he won't be happy in a seniors' home, I was thinking. Kinda like trying to keep a wolf in a doghouse._

Elly and I looked at each other and I could see the frustration in her eyes, "Maybe we could come back another time? Like tomorrow?"

She nodded, dejectedly and we stood up to leave when Karen returned, shaking her head, "I don't know where he's gone off to today. Probably out on the lake. I'm sorry."

"That's OK," Elly told her. "Could we come back another day to see if we might be able to catch him?"

"Of course, and I'm sorry you couldn't meet him today."

I thanked her for her hospitality and we left.

As we drove away, we could see some barricades across the streets, warning people to stay out."What's that all about?" I asked her.

"The mines have literally undermined the town, coming so close to the surface that there is danger of collapse. They say that sometimes at night you could even hear the voices of the miners as they worked down below."

It was strange to see the neat homes, looking like all the others in town, but abandoned. "And I suppose they can't tear anything down because the ground is so unstable?"

She nodded.

_Spooky!_

"You know? I think you're right. I think there's more to this that Karen knows about. Let's check out the Courthouse."

That got a smile from Elly and she wrapped her arms around my arm and gave it a squeeze. _How did I ever get along without her before this? Her smile was so full of love and adoration, I wanted to put her in a bottle! _ "Say! You want to do a little exploring with me first?" she asked with a conspiratorial grin.

I looked at her, suspicious of what she was planning, but then nodded , "Sure!" and chuckled. "Why not?" We left town and drove around to the other side of the big hill.

"If we could get as far as Swedetown, we might be able to walk in from there…"

"That sounds dangerous."_ Suddenly I was feeling very protective of her… I liked that feeling, having someone to protect._

Suddenly, we were met with another barricade. I pulled off the road into a copse of trees and we both donned dark jackets as it was getting dark outside. "We can follow what's left of the Swedetown road into Cornishtown…" she directed, leading the way. We used our Mini-Maglites to help pick out what could be seen of the road. At times it was hard to follow, what with the trees growing up through the cracks on the pavement and whole sections of pavement tumbled off to the side by either frost heave or other deliberate activity.

I started thinking about what we might be getting into, and thinking that I didn't want Elly to get mixed up in any sort of trouble. I was used to that sort of stuff, she wasn't. I tapped her on the shoulder, "Um, Elly?" I whispered.

"Ack!... Oh! You startled me. What is it?"

"How close are we?"

"It's just over the top of the hill. It won't be long now."

"Elly, I want you to go back…"

"What? No! This is my search! I should be…"

I took her by the shoulders so I could look into her eyes, "Elly, tromping around out here in the dark could be dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt. Why don't you go back and see if the Courthouse or the library is open. Maybe you can find some old records there?"

"But…"

"Please? I would feel much better if I knew you were safe." I gave her a kiss on her forehead and she hugged me.

"Well…" and she held out her hand for the keys to the jeep, "But you'd better be back before morning!"

"Yes, Ma'am." I said with a grin, and watched her as she headed back to the car, watched her until she was out of sight. I felt bad about sending her back – almost went with her – but I didn't know what I was gonna to find, and I wanted to be free to deal with it without having to worry about her safety.

It wasn't long before I began encountering warning signs and empty, abandoned homes. They reminded me of those dummy houses that are set up for military training in urban warfare or police training. I almost expected cardboard cutouts to pop up in front of me. After searching for about an hour, I sat down to rest and to think – where would he be? It felt a little weird sitting on a back porch, as if someone might come out and shoo me away. O_nce when I was young I decided to run away from home. I tucked all my important stuff - a pocket knife, a slingshot, a teddy bear, a change of clothes, and some candy bars - into my sleeping bag and rolled it up and strapped it to my shoulders and took off. It wasn't long before I got tired and sat down to rest. I had sat on someone's back porch a lot like this one. Well, it wasn't long before some nice lady came out and gave me some victuals (actually I think it was milk and cookies) and asked me where I was headed. One thing led to another and next thing I knew, my daddy was waking me up on this lady's couch and carried me home._

While I was sitting there ruminating, I was scratching around in the dirt and was surprised to find an old pocket knife. I was about to clean it up when a hand reached out and grabbed it.

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Hohoho! R & R, if you like!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"There it is!" said an older man who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "Been lookin' for that for over a year now!" He was tall and thin, could have been anywhere from 58 to 78 years old. His voice was thin and wheezy. "Thank you… Hmmm… do I know you?"

After recovering from my shock, I told him, "Huh? Uh.. no, sir, I'm… just visiting."

"Hush… keep your voice down! Visiting who?"

I was curious as to why I needed to keep quiet, but couldn't get a word in edgewise to ask. "The Thompsons."

He didn't seem to think much of that. He scoffed at me and then asked, "You got a name?"

"Yes, Sir… it's MacGyver."

"One o' them Scots, huh? Funny… I thought you looked kinda Norwegian. Just been cut loose, I see," he said, pointing at my backpack.

"Uh… 'cut lose'?"

"From the army! Discharged! Fine job you boys are doin over there! Right proud of every one o' ya!" and his talk dissolved into a coughing fit.

Puzzled, I looked around to see what he was nodding at… my backpack? Not sure what his meaning was, I simply answered, "Yes, Sir. Thank you, uh… why are we whispering?"

"Cuz we're hidin' out!" and he pulled me into some bushes. "And you can drop this "Sir" business… name's Rick, but everyone around here calls me 'Gramps'. You're here to see Karen, I suppose? Sure hope so. Can't abide that Stuart character!"... and he broke into another coughing fit.

"Well, No, actually I'm …not…"

Just then the back door of the house opened and Karen stepped out, "Gramps? Is that you? Gramps, I know you're here, so why don't you just come out and save us the worry?" She folded her arms, then sighed and went back inside.

"I thought these houses were abandoned?"

"They are," he answered over his shoulder. "But Karen knows that I still come back here now and again, Y'see, this was our house… mine and Ruthie's…"

Meanwhile gramps had been pulling me to a loose board in the tall fence between this back yard and that of the former neighbor and stepped through. I was about to do the same when he turned to me and asked, "Where's your duffel?"

"My…?" We both turned to see a large backpack in the yard. We exchanged glances,

"Can't leave it there!" said Gramps matter-of-factly

I made a face and sighed before making a mad dash for my pack, but just as I picked it up, Karen came back to the door, calling, "Mootsie! Here, Kitty-kitty!"

I had swung around behind a tree in the middle of the yard, holding my pack squarely in front of me and hoping she couldn't see it

"Mootsie! Come on, kitty-kitty!"

In answer to her calling a cat bounded across the yard, but then stopped to look at me, purring, and rubbed itself on my pantleg. Almost inaudibly I told him, "Nice kitty! Go on home… go! Git!" but to no avail. The cat continued it's rubbing, then turned around and sprayed the tree right next to me before bounding up onto the porch. _Aw! Phew! Ugh!_

"There you are!" said Karen as the cat came to the door. "Come on…" She let the cat in and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I got over to the fence, but my pack wouldn't fit through the opening. I signaled to Gramps to move out of the way so I could toss it over the top, but gramps had other ideas and squared himself to catch it. I waited for Karen to leave the window and then threw the bag. It was much too heavy for Gramps to catch and it propelled him backwards into the neighbor's flower bed and trellis with a crash.

_Flowers? I thought… why were there flowers growing here?_ Looking back at the fence I could see the warning sign on this side of it, so we were now in an area still occupied by residents! We were trespassing!

Right about then the neighbors came out onto their front porch with another couple. As they said their good nights, I extricated Gramps from the trellis. The woman then came to the back door, and I froze, holding Gramps as still as I could. And just as she was about to open the door, a man's voice rang out, "Better take yer sweater, Ma!"

She turned back with a sigh and, "I s'pose…" When she was gone we raced across the yard and hid under another neighbor's porch.

"Now what?" I ask him. "Where are we going?"

"My place." We waited under that porch until things quieted down before Gramps again began leading me through backyards, with him sometimes walking into objects or tripping over them - like a wall, fences, a wheelbarrow. Now I knew it was dark, but I was beginning to suspect that just maybe he was having trouble seeing. We finally reached a barn with four cows inside and sat in an empty stall to catch our breath. I was getting a bit peeved at this guy dragging me all over the place and having second thoughts about getting involved, but Elly had thought there might be something else going on here, and as much as I wanted to drop it, I agreed with her. This just didn't smell right.

"Now, ya mind tellin' me what this is all about?" I turned to him and saw that he'd pulled out a pack of cigarettes and was lighting one up. "Hey! HEY! What d'ya think you're doing? Those things'll kill you!"

"Yeah, yeah… that's what they all say." He took a drag and started coughing,

"I mean it! Those things cause lung cancer!"

"Don't mean much to someone dyin' of lung rot, now does it?"

I reached over and took the cigarette away and ground it out, then noticed some straw smouldering where he'd thrown the match. "And the smoke is more harmful to the people around you… not to mention the fire hazard!" and I quickly jumped up to stomp out the small blaze.

Gramps crossed his arms and scoffed, "BAH! You young folks are all alike!"

_'Young folks'? _I thought.

"All you think about is makin' noise and doin' whatever YOU want to do, but when it comes to doin' what someone else wants, why-y… ya got a thousand excuses not to do it!"

It was kinda hard to reason with this guy. His mind was all over the place – almost like he was deliberately trying to confuse me. Now that gave me something to think about! "Look," I told him. "I'm sorry! But I'm just tryin' to keep us both alive a little bit longer. Now, ya mind telling me what this is all about?"

All he gave me was a firm, "Harumph!"

"Look, you practically kidnapped me! I think the least you can do is to tell me where we're going? Would that be too much to ask?"

He gave me a look like he was deciding whether he could trust me, "Humph!... We're goin' to my fishing shack… other side of the lake."

"The… but that's, what, six miles? You can't walk that far! And in the dark?"

Gramps left the barn with me right behind him. He turned around with a barely hidden smirk,

"Don't forget your duffel!"

"My…?" _ This guy was really yanking my chain!_

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Hope you liked it! Read ad Review If you like!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_I asked myself, What am I doing here?! And then I started feeling guilty. Here, I'd told Elly that I'd be back by morning and here I was being dragged who knows where by some old guy that I wasn't even sure was her relative. But it was pretty clear that he needed some kind of help. I just wish there was some way to get in touch with her…_

After retrieving my backpack – that he persisted in calling my 'duffel bag' – I hurried to catch up with him. He was heading for some unoccupied summer cabins along the lake shore when he suddenly disappeared. I blinked my eyes and shook my head, but he was gone. I was cautiously making my way along the side of one of the cottages when I saw someone walking along the shore. I broke into a trot, heading his way when something grabbed my ankle and I went down like a sack of wheat, the heavy backpack on top knocking the wind out of me with a loud "Oof!"

The stroller continued on his way, unaware of the activities not fifty yards away.

I had a little trouble catching my breath until Gramps came to help me get up. "Sorry I had to do that," he said. "You almost gave us away there!"

"So you had to nearly KILL me?!"

"Ain't my fault ya gotta carry that dumb thing around with ya!" and I could see him trying to hide a smirk as he headed toward the lake.

_This guy reminded me of a bull moose whose acquaintance I made some years back. It was rutting season and I had no business being out there, but out there I was. Well, this moose caught wind of me and decided that I was his competition and he needed to do something about it. When I saw him pawing the dirt I ducked down behind a fallen log. Now, moose might be big and have a great sense of smell – I'm told they can smell lichens and grass under three feet of snow! – but they have rather poor eyesight. Well, he could smell me alright, but all he could see in my direction was a medium-sized spruce tree with a trunk maybe eight inches in diameter. He put his head down and came roaring in like a freight train, right over the top of me, and crashed into that tree. And not just once! He kept at it until he had uprooted that tree! After he was satisfied that his rival was not getting up, he calmly walked over and peed on it before proudly sauntering away. I hope I never get into a disagreement with a moose! After he was done I got out of there as fast as I could!_

As I picked up my pack, Gramps called to me in a hushed voice, "Come on!... and keep your voice down!"

I made a face behind his back and caught up with him when he stopped near some bushes and bent over to reach for something. "Give me a hand here, would ya?"

As I got closer I could see that he was pulling on a boat that had been concealed in the bushes. We got it out and he pushed it into the water. I hadn't given any thought to what he was wearing until he started emptying the pockets of his big overcoat. (_Reminded me of those circus clowns that pull all sorts of stuff out of their coats!) _ I mean, he was pulling out canned goods, toilet paper, cereal, potatoes, a bunch of carrots, apples, a clean shirt, a quart jar of milk, a tin of canned meat … He gestured for me to hurry and I got into the boat with my backpack.

"Hope what you got in that thing is worth all your trouble!... Well? You don't think this thing's gonna move itself, do ya? Come on! Row!"

I gestured toward the tarp covered outboard at his end of the boat, "ROW? What's wrong with the motor?"

Gramps looked from it to me, scowling, "Ah-h… (cough) it makes too much noise. Besides, gotta save on gas, you know."

I shook my head and made a face while I grabbed the oars and started rowing. "Where to?"

Gramps directed me to a little cove at the far end of the lake where we beached the boat. True to form, Gramps had stuffed his pockets and pouches with the toilet paper, cereal, shirts and other light-weight things, leaving the canned goods and bags of flour for me to carry. I stuffed what I could into my backpack and put the rest into a bag to carry and followed him to his shack.

I looked around in disbelief. His fishing shack was just that: a shack. It had just one room that was littered with dirty clothes, empty cans and jars, spoiled food, and dirty dishes. A cot filled one wall, a stack of crates that served as a cupboard shared a wall with the door, a make-shift woodstove and wash bench filled a third wall, and a small table with a crate for a chair the fourth.

"Shack is right!"

"Got any complaints?" challenged Gramps, putting away some of the stuff we'd brought along.

"Yeah! Don't you ever clean this place?" I asked, my arm sweeping around to indicate the room.

"Nah!" he said over his shoulder. "The raccoons clean it out for me each winter!"

_I couldn't believe this guy! The raccoons?_

"You can sleep on the floor. Hope ya got a blanket in that thing? Might get chilly at night."

I looked at my bedroll and for once I was grateful that I lugged that thing around with me.

During the night I couldn't help but to think of Elly, where she was, what she was doing, if she was OK. I had left her with most of our cash and my Foundation credit card just in case she needed it. Of course, thinking now I realized that she would know how to contact Pete – or at least his office – in an emergency. Still, I really hated myself for just leaving her like that. She must think I'm the biggest jerk ever. On the other hand, I wondered if she'd learned anything more about Gramps?

I must've drifted off to sleep because a noise woke me up and it took me awhile to remember where I was and figure out that the noise was Gramps coming back from outside and trying to suppress a coughing fit. I told him, "Go ahead and cough... I'm awake." His coughing didn't sound good but eventually subsided. I turned to face him, "When's the last time you saw a doctor?"

He shrugged and said "'Bout a week ago." I was shocked that he'd seen a doctor that recently.

"Yeah?..." when he didn't offer anything else, I asked, "What did he have to say?"

Gramps was climbing back into his squeaky bed, "Oh, nothin' much… said prices had gone up again."

"He said what?" I began to suspect that he was leading me on and that we were talking about two different things.

"He said the price of coffee had gone up again… three cents!"

"Gramps, I mean about YOU? Wait a minute ," and I propped myself up on one elbow to look at him … "Just where did you have this conversation?"

"At Hansen's, over on Hekla Street."

Now I was sitting straight up, "Hansen's Grocery store?"

He snuggled down into his blankets, " Over by the coffee mill.'

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Quite the curmudgeon, isn't he? R & R, if you like!


	5. Chapter 5

Independence: Chapter 5

(MacGyver POV)

Gramps had buried himself in his blankets but I could still hear him chuckling. This guy was far from being incompetent; he was wily as a coyote! After he'd told me that he had last seen the doctor at the local grocery store, I knew that he was being deliberately evasive, so I had no choice but to confront him directly. Still sitting on the floor in my sleeping bag, I asked him,

"That's not what I meant and you know it! Now, when was the last time you saw a doctor about your coughing problem?"

He stopped chuckling and tried to answer, " Well… it was, uh… Let's see…"

Growing impatient with his hemming and hawing, I asked, "Was it within the past month?"

He didn't answer, but he wasn't laughing anymore either, so I pressed the issue, "SIX months?" Still no answer. "Within the last year?"

He must have grown weary of my nagging and answered, " Ah-I can't remember such details… Mighta been."

"Mighta been what?"

"Past year… maybe. Nothin he can do…." He paused gathering his determination, "he thinks it's T.B., but it ain't. Wants me to go to Morgan Heights, but most of the people I've known who have gone there only come half-way back."

I thought back to the map Elly had shown me of the area… "Half-way… the cemetery?"

"I ain't dyin' closed up in some cold room away from my lakes and trees and family."

There it was, or at least part of the puzzle. Still didn't say why Karen was so anxious to sell and move away. "So that's why you're hiding?"

"They've poisoned her mind, convinced her that I either need to go to Morgan Heights or to the State nut house. And I won't have it. No sir!... and he started coughing again before drifting off to sleep.

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(POV Elly)

After staying up for at least half the night, worrying about Mac, I went out for some coffee and toast before heading out. Whatever he'd gotten into, I guessed he was having trouble getting out of it, so I decided to put this time to good use. I had left a message for him at the hotel before leaving for the courthouse. Once there I found a helpful clerk who was willing to join me in looking through some records. It seemed that Gramps was well known and well loved and there was an undercurrent of distrust where Karen's fiancé was concerned. So she offered to help me.

But she couldn't find any deeds under the name I had given her: Rick Thompson. "Are you sure that's his full name? Thompson?"

I thought back to my Norse linguistic studies and remembered the Christianization of the old Norse names. " Maybe try 'THORVARDSEN'?"

She looked again but still couldn't find anything.

"Could it be a middle name?"

"Well, there is a Søren Thorvardsen in the records…" she offered hopefully, "but he passed away back in 1935. And there are all sorts of flags coming up under that name."

"Flags? What do you mean?" I asked, leaning over the counter trying to read her computer screen.

"Well, it looks like the Thorvardsens owned a lot of property up here …" and her voice drifted off as she scanned the various holdings belonging to the family.

"Hmm… Who owns them now? Can you tell me that?"

The clerk continued to scan. "My land! They owned most of the town, and the entire lake!" She looked at me, fairly startled, "but they must not live around here. I'm sure I don't know anyone with that sort of wealth living up here!"

I was growing impatient with the clerk's infatuation with this non-resident wealthy property owner. "Does it say who the titles were transferred to?"

"Here it is," pronounced the clerk, "Erik Thomassen. But there are no records here for anyone by that name."

We looked at each other, then she glanced at the clock, "Oh! My goodness! I need to close up for the day. If you could come back tomorrow we can continue looking?"

"That would be so nice of you! Thank you for all your help," I told her, shaking her hand.

"Well, I'm sorry we couldn't find anything for you. Good night now!"

_Well that was an exercise in futility, I thought. Here, we'd spent most of the day and came up empty-handed._

I left the courthouse with the names Thompson and Thomassen and Thorvardssen crashing around in my brain. _Was there a tie between them? Was I missing something?_ I spent most of the rest of the day walking around the town, looking in shop windows and pastry shops. I stopped in a little café that advertised 'pasties'. I hadn't had one since I left home many years ago, so I had to order one. It wasn't exactly like my grandmother's – but close! I had them wrap up half of it so I could take it back to the hotel and put it in the little fridge they provided, just in case Mac returned after the kitchen had closed for the day.

There still was no message from Mac at the hotel. What could have happened to him? Was he hurt and lying injured somewhere? I had the feeling he was chasing around somewhere , either with Gramps or following him, somewhere beyond any phone lines. But knowing how reckless he could be sometimes, giving little or no thought to his own safety, I just hoped and prayed that he was safe. It had been a very long time since I had met anyone who was so intelligent, and strong – strong enough to be gentle. _"Take care of yourself, Mac!"_

Oo00oo00oo00ooO

(POV MacGyver)

I was up early the next morning and got right down to straightening up the shack. Gramps was sleeping like a log, but even so, I kept it as quiet as I could. When I was done, I took the boat over to what had looked like a nice patch of the stuff I needed for Gramps. But I couldn't help wondering how Elly was faring, left alone as she was. _Elly, I'm thinking about you… are you worrying about me? I had no idea whether she could sense my thoughts, but I told her anyway, 'I'M with Gramps and we are OK, just getting to know each other a little bit! _Then the patch of plants came into view and sure enough, it was what I needed. Back at the shack I began searching for what I was sure Gramps had a good supply of, when I heard his voice,

"Lookin' for something?" he asked testily.

"Yeah, I am. Good Morning! You have any cigarette papers?"

"Over in the drawer under the table… What you want them for? …What time is it?"

"Uh, just about eight o'clock. Well, you said you don't have T.B…. If that's so, you can extend your life expectancy by quitting smoking… maybe by as much as a year, maybe more." I pulled out a few of the papers and laid some of the leaves I had collected on them.

"Bah! Ain't worth the hassle! If I'm gonna die in three months, I might as well be content!." Meanwhile his curiosity had gotten the better of him and he came over to see what I was doing as I started rolling the leaves into the cigarette papers.

"Well, these will not only help you to quit smoking, but they'll clean out some of the tar in your lungs, help you breathe easier."

"Yeah? Says who? How come nobody else knows about this….this…?"

I grinned as I finished up one of the cigarettes. "Coltsfoot. Latin name is Tussilago farfara. They do, but medical doctors … uh-I guess they feel threatened by folks who know different ways of healing and treating disease… Here, try this," I said, handing him one, "It won't taste like tobacco, but it'll satisfy your need to smoke."*

Gramps lit it up and took a drag – and coughed. "Ugh! Tastes like three-year-old tobacco!"

I grinned at his efforts, surprised and pleased that he trusted me enough to actually try it. "You'll get used to it. Just keep telling yourself that each of these cigarettes will add a week to your life."

"A week, you say? Humph…. That coffee I smell?"

"Yes, sir. And some warm water to wash in."

"To..?" I grinned as I saw his eyes grow larger as he looked around at his shack, stunned. The dirty clothes were all in a box, the floor was swept and clean dishes were drying on a towel on the wash table.

"What's all this?"

"Ah-h it was the least I could do … in exchange for your… hospitality."

Gramps scoffed, "S'pose you expect me to keep it this way?"

"That's your business. I just thought that, since you're not feeling very energetic just now, I'd help you out a little. You want some breakfast?"

He eyed me suspiciously, "Yeah? And what do you expect to get out of it? Eh?"

I smiled back at his challenging expression, "Nothing. A friend, maybe?"

"Humph!"

"You go ahead and get cleaned up and I'll start some eggs … how do you want 'em?"

"Break 'em in a hot pan with butter, stir 'em once or twice, take the pan off the heat and put a cover on it. Takes two minutes, so don't start 'em til I get back."

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Maybe things are looking up? R & R, if you like!

*AN: Coltsfoot actually has to be cured for a few days before being rolled up like a cigar and wrapped in a paper in order to smoke it.


	6. Chapter 6

Independence: A MacGyver Story , Ch 6

(POV MacGyver)

After breakfast I got started loading the boat for our day of fishing. I was glad that Gramps was willing to use the Coltsfoot herb I had gathered for him. I really hoped it would make him feel better, but I couldn't help but wonder why there was so much pressure to move him out of the house? _Who could he possibly hurt if he stayed there? What difference would it make to anyone, so long as he was able to take care of himself, with a little help? Aside from his coughing, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him… well, maybe he needed glasses, but that was no reason to put him in a home!_

_Well, according to my watch, it was getting late…_"Hey, Gramps? Don't you think we outa shake a leg if we're going fishing?"

He gave me a look of infinite patience, "That's how much you know!

"What? What did I say this time?"

"Any idea what it means to 'shake a leg'?" he asked.

"Well, yeah…" I thought it was obvious. Everyone knew what it meant, didn't they? "It means to hurry up… doesn't it?"

"Humph," he said. "Don't mean no such thing. Back in the day, when a sailing ship came in to port, women were allowed on board to, well, you know. When the time came for the watch to change, the Officer On Deck would call down the rows of bunks and hammocks, 'Show a leg!' Any woman in there would stick out her leg and that sailor was excused from pulling that watch."

"Were you a sailor?" I asked as Gramps finally climbed in the boat.

"Grandfather was." Gramps lit up one of the herbed joints and started coughing after taking a drag. Soon he was bringing something up,

"What color is it?" I asked him.

"Ugh! Black… and green!"

"Good!" I told him. That means it's working!"

"Yeah? Good to hear it," he said, about as enthusiastically as a crocodile sunning himself.

Soon Gramps had us racing across that lake doing about twenty miles an hour. I called to him over the roar of the engine, "Hey! Slow down! You're gonna… ROCK! TURN! TURN RIGHT!"

Gramps turned and they missed the rock by inches. I looked from that rock to Gramps in disbelief. "What's your hurry?" Just then I looked up in time to see us heading for one of the lake buoys, "HEY! LOOK OUT FOR THE BUOY!" and I started waving my arms at him. "HEY! STOP THE BOAT! STOP!"

The boat motor slowed down to an idle and Gramps turned angrily toward me, "What the devil's got into you?"

"Into me? You nearly hit that rock, and then the buoy, and now you've almost run us aground! Doesn't that thing operate any anything other than full tilt?!"

"A-ach! I know where I'm goin'! This is a good place, ain't it?"

I looked around incredulously. We were sitting in about three feet of water that was choked with weeds.

"Here? This is all weeds. We can't cast in here."

"Weeds, you say? Never used to be weeds here. Let's try another spot." And gramps gunned the motor while turning the tiller. I quickly grabbed the gunwale of the boat to keep from being thrown into the lake.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"Not so loud! " Gramps called to me. "You'll scare the fish!"

I doubted any fish were hanging around in such shallow water with a motorboat churning through it and I was about to sit down again when I saw a partially submerged tree dead ahead. I lunged for the tiller and we were just able to miss the obstacle.

"Hey! What's the idea?" Yelled Gramps, grabbing back the tiller. Just then a branch of the tree knocked off his hat. He turned and finally saw the tree. "What…? O, Brother! We almost hit that thing!" and he puts one hand to his head, shaking it, then looking out onto the lake.

I reached over and shut off the motor, then tied the boat to the tree branch and dove in after Gramps' hat. I retrieved the hat and swam back and tossed the hat into the boat before climbing in myself.

"Thanks," Gramps murmured and looked away.

_It's a hard thing to realize that you need help from another person. One day when I was little, Mike Swenson crashed into me during a hockey game. Broke my leg. After I got home I refused to ask anyone for help… well, until I absolutely had to, like to get into the bathroom or to reach the food that was set out for my meals. But I was in such an ornery mood because I felt that I had let Mike do that to me. But he was so sorry about it, he even came to the house to apologize to me – more than once – but I wouldn't see him. Then I heard that he'd quit the team. He couldn't do that! He wanted to go to the Olympics … well, eventually, when he was old enough! He couldn't quit over this accident! I called him on the phone and asked him to come and help me set up a gym so I could exercise. He did a great job and we soon became fast friends. Along the way he told me something his grandmother had told him, that 'One of the hardest things we have to learn in this life is how to graciously accept the help of others.' I would say that is a hard but a very important lesson to learn and I know that from experience. We both rejoined the team the following year. _

But right now I needed to give Gramps something to do, keep his mind busy. "Want to throw a line in here? Might be some bass… or should we row out a little?"

"I nearly hit that tree. Didn't even see it!" he moaned.

"Ahh… forget it," I told him. "Come on, let's catch some fish."

Gramps picked up his line and reached for a worm, put it back and took another, then had trouble hooking it. "Can't even buy decent bait anymore. All they got is these bitty little things…."

"I found a good one. Here, take my line," I said handing him the other pole. We traded rods but Gramps was still sullen. _ If I could get him talking, it might bring him out of this mood._ So I asked him, "Tell me more about your grandfather. Did he serve in the Civil War?"

"Humph! What makes you ask a question like that?"

"Well, a lot of Scandinavians came over and joined the armies – both north and south, especially the Navy… for the money."

"Confederates, eh? Well, he wasn't no Confederate. He took the money back to Denmark and bought a small farm … grew strawberries, 'jordbaer'. He wasn't no Dane, just lived there."

"Where?" I asked , just to keep him talking.

"Uh? I don't know. Some place called Oyster Bay … or Easter Bay? Somethin' like that anyway… OOH! HEY Get the net, will ya?" and he started tugging on his line.

"Alright! Supper, eh?"

We landed the fish and strung it before casting for more. "Yeah…" Gramps said, thinking, "Y'know? That girl can cook better than her mother ever did. And bake? She makes Vandbakkelse* and puts almond filling in it. Melts in your mouth! And her Aebelskivver's* won blue ribbons at the last three County Fairs! And her PASTIES*! " and he sighed.

"You miss her, don't you?"

"Nyeah… I suppose."

"I'll bet she's pretty worried about you. Look, if I talk to her… maybe … I could convince her to let you stay home?"

"Uh, I don't know. You'd have to convince the Health Department too."

_The Health Department? I wondered. Now, what would they have to do with all this?_ "I'll see what I can do."

"Nah-I don't know…"

"Have you ever told Karen about your grandfather?" I asked hopefully.

"Karen? Humph! Young folks ain't interested in stuff like that," he groused.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short. Give her a chance, you may be surprised."

We fished for the rest of the afternoon until Gramps decided we had enough for supper and breakfast alike and told me to take the tiller. "Head for the east end of the lake."

"Yes, Sir. What's over there? You said we had enough fish."

"Gotta go see somebody."

O0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oO

Now who would Gramps be going to see? And in a rowboat? Read and review, if you like…

AN*: Vandbakkelse is a Danish delicacy similar to Kringel; Aebelskivver are Danish apple pancake balls that are filled with applesauce and dusted with powdered sugar before serving.; Pasties are hand held Cornish meat pies


	7. Chapter 7

Independence: A MacGyver Story Ch 7

(POV MacGyver)

After we beached the boat and put the string of fish into the water, Gramps led me to an old shed nearby.

He turned, studying me…

"What?" I asked

"Know how to drive a stick?" _ I guess he hadn't seen my jeep._

"Yeah…"

He opened the doors of the shed, revealing a red 1940 Ford pickup truck.

My eyes all but fell out of my head. "Wow! Oh, WOW!" I said, slowly circling the antique. "Will you look at this? (_I couldn't repress a chuckle) _It's in mint! Does it run?" It was a little dusty, but other than that, it looked fresh off the showroom floor!

I looked at Gramps, puzzled

"Karen won't let me drive it … says I can't see well enough."

We exchanged glances and then he shrugged, "I guess she's right." He took a deep breath and let it out, "Anyway, she told me to sell it, put the money in my savings."

"So you stashed it here instead," I finished, continuing to examine this museum piece.

"Humph. She never has time to take me to see Mother… "

We exchanged glances again… _what could I say? _

"Get in," he said. "You drive."

"I'm honored!" I told him, getting in. "How come nobody bothers it out here? I didn't see a lock on the doors to the shed."

"It's on my land!"

"Your land? Which way?"

"East."

I hung a right off of the dirt road that led to the shed. "This is your land? May I ask how much land?"

"Most of it."

"Most? Wait a minute! You mean that you own the land around the lake?" _I started mentally calculating how many acres this was, how many sections he must own._

Gramps nodded.

"What about the mines?"

"Only one of 'em rents from me… She sure rides nice, don't she?"

"Yeah…" I said, beginning to get the bigger picture, the much bigger picture.

"Where are we going?"

"The cemetery," he answered matter-of-factly.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_I left him alone to do his visiting in private. I mean, some people get embarrassed talking to their loved ones who have passed on in front of strangers. I know I do – or did - on the few occasions when I'd visited Mom's and Dad's graves. It's just something too personal to want to share with the world. Kinda like the way I used to talk to my dog when I was little, after Mom & Dad were gone. Something might be bothering me and I'd hole up in my room with Macsen (that was my collie – farm collie, as opposed to those pointy-nosed show dogs). Anyway, I'd hole up in my room with him and sit there on the floor hugging him, telling him all of my woes. He'd give me a couple licks, lick away my tears as if to say that things would work out. Yeah… Max was one smart dog! I could tell him anything and he'd never tell on me, although I suspected he sometimes dropped hints so Harry could figure out what might be troubling me._

Well, Gramps was coming toward me, so I guessed it was time to go back.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oO

Next morning I drove Gramps' truck into town. After a brief stop at the courthouse, I drove to Karen's place and parked it in front of the house, which got the reaction I'd been expecting. The door opened almost before I was out of the truck, with Karen standing there looking like she was ready for a battle.

"Where did you get that truck? And Where's Gramps?"

"Karen, I have to talk with you," I tried placating her, but she would have none of it.

"That's my grandfather's truck! Where is he? Is he alright?"

I could see that she was more worried than angry, so I held up my hands in surrender and asked her, "May I come in?"

She gave me a good looking over before standing aside to allow me to enter. "Come on."

After she'd brought out some coffee and pastries, we sat on the couch in her living room and I told her what I'd found out about Gramps' land holdings. I also told her what I was beginning to suspect about her fiancé, Stuart.

"I don't believe it!" she said, her eyes tearing up "He wouldn't do this to me! He loves me! He wants to marry me!" She searched my face for any sign of duplicity.

"I'm sorry," I told her. "But the Health Department has no record of anyone by the name of Stuart Fletcher. If … if your grandfather were to be declared incompetent, and you and he were married, according to the state laws, he would have control of everything."

We discussed a plan I had come up with to bring him out and show his true colors. Karen finally nodded and looked up and said, "O.K. I'll do it … but I still think you're wrong…"

It wasn't long before the front door opened and a young man entered. His dark hair and overly groomed appearance and stylish attire spoke of someone far too extravagant for this area.

"Hi, Karen! You ready…?" He stopped short, looking around, "Where's Gramps?" Then his eyes settled on me. I nodded at him and he demanded, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

I smiled.

"Oh Stu! I forgot!," Karen told him. "This is uhh.."

"MacGyver," I filled in, getting up. "I'm a friend of Gramps."

We shook hands as Stuart introduced himself, "Stuart Fletcher. I'm an inspector with the Michigan Health Department." Then he turned to Karen, "You ready, Carrie? You have to be at work by ten… "He studied her more closely and could see that she'd been crying. "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

She shook her head , "No, Stu. We've just been discussing Gramps' will and…"

"His will?"

I decided it was time to drop the bomb. "Well, actually, I'm representing Mr. Thompson and I came to talk with Miss Thompson about a family matter." I turned to Karen, deliberately leaving Stuart a bit flustered, "I'll have these papers drawn up for you and bring them around some time tomorrow."

We stood up and shook hands, "Thank you," she said. "Until tomorrow then?"

I turned on my way out to see that Stuart was just brimming with questions, "Nice meeting you, Mr. Fletcher," I told him, just barely holding back a grin, and left.

After MacGyver had left, Stu turned to Karen, "What was that all about? Why does he have Gramps' truck?"

Karen had been distracted watching MacGyver drive away. "Huh? Oh, Gramps just changed his will is all," she replied distractedly.

Stuart tried to cover up his anxiety, "He did what?!"

Karen replied, still thinking about what MacGyver had told her, "He's leaving me a trust fund that I'll get when I'm 35, but all the land he's leaving to the Michigan Historical Society." She turned then and saw that Stuart was livid.

"He's WHAT? That's CRAZY! You've got to have him declared incompetent before he gives everything away and leaves you with nothing!" Stuart anxiously went to the window where he could see the red pickup making its way toward the courthouse.

"What? Don't be silly. I have the house, my savings… and the trust fund in a few years…"

He turned back to her, "Has it been filed yet?"

"Stu, I really don't see why you're getting so worked up about this? After all, it IS his money."

Stuart took her by both shoulders and asked, "Karen, HAS THE WILL BEEN FILED YET?"

She wiggled out of his hold, scowling at him and rubbing her shoulders, "Mr. MacGyver's gone to do that right now."

Stuart rushed from the house , "We'll just see about that!"

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Uh-oh. Looks like stuff is about to hit the fan! R & R, if you like!


	8. Chapter 8

Independence: A MacGyver Story Ch 8

(POV MacGyver)

I watched my rear-view mirror to see what Stuart would do, and sure enough, he came flying out of the house and jumped into a late-model black pickup. _Some people are _so _predictable! _I kept watching, wondering what he was going to try. The mirrors in Gramps' truck were tiny, making it a little hard to keep track of Stuart, and I lost him. Then suddenly I caught sight of his truck just before it swerved into my path. I turned the wheel and finally stopped just short of an old abandoned mine entrance. _I definitely didn't want anything to happen to Gramps'_ _truck!_ I rolled down the window and unlatched the door while I waited in the truck. Stuart got out of his truck with a drawn gun and approached my window. _ This guy had to have a death wish, walking around with a loaded gun like that. Didn't he know how dangerous that could be? _He came closer, waving that stupid gun around like some badido.

"Aw, come on now, you're not gonna shoot me here in broad daylight?"

"Give me the will!" he demanded, albeit a bit nervously. _He reminded me of a kid trying to act like a tough. That could be dangerous, because you never knew what he was going to do next. Time to get that gun away from him…_

"Thompson's will?" I asked innocently, but with a bit of a smirk I couldn't quite contain. "Now, what would a Health Department Inspector want with an old man's will?"

Stuart was getting antsy; he brandished the gun, ordering me, "Get out of the truck!"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Sure… whatever you… SAY!" And I slammed the truck door against Stuart, sending him to the ground, his momentum carrying him down the hill. Before he could recover, I had kicked the gun out of his hand. Stuart recovered and charged, bowling me over, and we rolled farther down the street. Stuart landed a solid body punch and I doubled over, but when Stuart moved in to finish the job, he came up with nothing but air. I spun around and delivered a kick that knocked him senseless.

I doubled over again to catch my breath and saw boots. _ Now what? I wondered. An accomplice?_ I came up ready to defend myself when I saw it was the Chief of Police.

"Thanks for all the help." I choked out.

"Glad to be of service! You MacGyver?" he said, tucking Stuart's gun into his belt.

"Yeah. Ugh… Karen send you?" I asked, still trying to catch my breath.

This police Chief stood there like he wanted to ask me something. "That's right," he said. "Mighty handy with your feet… think you could teach me how to do that?"

I grinned at him, "Sure. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Just then Elly came running up from the courthouse, "Mac! Are you OK?" She wrapped her arms protectively around me. "What kind of trouble did you get into this time?" she asked with a smirk on her face.

_Oh, I have missed this!_ "No trouble," I told her. "Just letting Karen see what Stuart was really after – her land."

Nearby, Stuart was beginning to recover , "Ugh!... What? Sheriff! Gotta stop him. He coerced Gramps to change his will! Don't let him file it… it's…it's bogus!" he said, getting to his feet and starting after me again.

The Chief took Stuart by the arm and began to lead him away, "You don't say? Why don't you come along with me and you can tell me about it over a cup of coffee?" Stuart finally realized what was happening and began to struggle against him. "Hey! Wait a minute! You can't let him leave! He's got the will!"

"The will?" I asked. "You mean this?" and I pulled the piece of paper out of my pocket. "No problem, here you are," and handed it to him.

As he reached out for it the Chief slapped cuffs on him. "Hey! Wait a minute! What's this for?"

He looked at the paper, turned it over, puzzled. "This is just a shopping list!"

I grinned. _ I love it when the bad guy realizes he's been had, the victim of his own greed! Reminds me of that old Greek guy by the name of Aesop. He once told a story about a dog that had a piece of meat. He wanted a quiet place to eat it so he was carrying it home. On his way he had to cross a bridge over a creek. As he did, he could see the reflection of what looked like another dog, carrying an equally large piece of meat. He let go of the piece he had in order to grasp the one he could see in the water, but of course, once he let go of the piece in his mouth, both meat and reflection were lost in the water. _I looked at Stuart and shook my head sadly, "There was no change in Gramps' will; Karen just needed to know what your real motives were. Chief, I have a feeling you might have a picture of this guy somewhere in your office?"

"Come on, let's go," said the Chief, pulling him along. "We can have a nice long talk."

I turned to Elly, wrapping my arms around her, "I can't believe how much I have missed you!

"Oh yeah?" she challenged wrapping her arms around my neck "How much?"

I chuckled, "Mmm… Later!"

"What happened to you? You' said you'd be back by morning…?"

"Well, Gramps sorta took me fishing… (kiss) What have you been up to?"

"Fishing," she said with a grin …"in the courthouse records."

"Really?" I asked her with a grin and a kiss.

"Really," she told me with a grin and a kiss, and took me by the hand to lead me toward the courthouse.

I pulled her the other way so we could return the truck before I followed Elly to the Courthouse to show me what she'd found.

"Gramps isn't who we think he is!" she declared as we walked back.

"Yeah. He told me that he owns a lot of the land around here."

"What's he like? Stuart says he's incorrigible and delusional. But it's odd that the Health Department has no record of Stuart in their office."

"He's a con man. Somehow he's figured out that Karen is worth a lot of money and he's looking for a way to get it, first by getting Gramps out of the way."

Back in the courthouse, she showed MacGyver what she had been working on when she saw the fracas uphill from the building.

I was torn. Of course, I was interested in what she had to show me… but I was also distracted by her again being so close. I hovered over her, partly watching what she was doing, but now and then inhaling the wonderful fragrance of her hair. Predictably, it made her giggle. "Cut that out!" she giggled. "We have work to do."

"Umhm," I replied with a dreamy grin.

"Will you pay attention here?" and she wiggled away from me and showed me a registration card. "Here it is… 'RICK THOMPSON'." She turned to the clerk and asked, "Could we make an enlarged copy of this, please?"

"Sure," she replied. "Right this way." and led us to the photocopier. Soon we were at a table studying five copies of the document, each made at a different exposure.

Looking at them, I could see faint shadows in places around the letters. "He changed his name!" We looked at each other. Her eyes were dancing with delight in having discovered this. "I could kiss you!"

She giggled (_I will never get enough of that delightful sound!) _and gave me a peck on the cheek before asking the clerk for some correcting fluid, "White-Out?"

I watched as she carefully painted parts of certain letters, allowing the shaded areas to dictate the parts that remained. Next she used a pencil to connect the shadows that remained to form different letters: she whited out the 'P' in THOMPSON, all but the 'K' in RICK, then made a very dark copy of the page. Finally, her pencil finished the transformation and she showed it to us.

The clerk said, "Well for Pete's sake! That's really something!"

The name on the registration card had been changed from ERIK THOMASSEN to RICK THOMPSON.

I looked from the paper to Elly, "Yes, she is."

Elly swatted me on the arm and giggled. "So you know what this means? Where are those property records we were looking at a few days ago?"

"Do you have any idea when this change was made?" I asked.

"Well, we could look through the tax records," the clerk told us. "But that would take, oh, a very long time."

"Never mind, "I told them. "I think I know someone who knows. Come on!" and I picked up the copies and took Elly's hand and led her out of the courthouse.

_You know how sometimes it seems like a little light bulb gets turned on and suddenly everything is clear to see? Well I had this little light suddenly spring to life in my head and I could see the connection between these deeds, and Gramps, and the changes in the records._

"Where are we going?" asked Elly as I hurried her out of the Courthouse.

"We're off to visit a coyote!" I told her with a wink and a smirk. "Tell me again about the years when the Norse Christianized their names."

Someone's about to lose their cover! Read and Review, if you like!

Say! Thanks for all the reviews! I was getting worried that nobody liked this one… so very glad you do!


	9. Chapter 9

Independence – A MacGyver Story C h 9

(POV MacGyver)

On the way back up the hill to Karen and Gramps' home, Elly explained the changes in Danish and Norwegian names over the years… "Well, as the Scandinavian people turned to Christianity, they stopped using the names of pagan gods in their own names. So the name 'Thorvardsen' became 'Thomassen', 'Snørressen' became 'Sørensen' and so on". She gave me a funny look as if she had explained the meaning of life to me – but I didn't get it.

But I was thinking about all those property names we had come across a few days earlier, when we were looking for Thompson records. More light bulbs were turning on! Coyote was right!

When we got to Karen's house we were please and relieved to see Gramps there as well. At the moment he was consoling Karen over Stuart's arrest.

Elly spoke up first. "Karen, it is so nice to see you and Gramps together at last. Will he be staying home now?"

"Yes," Karen answered. "Now that I know that Stuart wasn't really from the Health Department … how could I have been so foolish?" She looked tearfully at Gramps, "It's no wonder you ran off to your fishing shack! I was horrible to you!"

"True, but it was understandable. I was half believing him myself!"

I saw my opening and dived right in, "Say Gramps, remember when you told me that the land around the lake was mostly yours?"

"That's true. It is."

Karen turned to look at him, startled, "It's WHAT? What do you mean 'YOURS'?"

"Karen," Elly paused to gather her thoughts, "before we came to see you, we did some checking on property ownership up here. We found that various properties were owned by different people with similar names."

Gramps got up to leave, "I'll just go smoke one of those fancy joints you made for me…"

"Na-uh," I told him. "We need you in here." Gramps sat and looked down, defeatedly. "Thought you might."

"And it seems that some have never changed hands since the 1830's or before. Some are written in Old Norse and had to be translated," Elly explained.

"Funny thing was," I chimed in, "though none of the properties changed hands, the names have changed. Then we found this…" and I produced the changed registration card. "What is your name, Gramps?"

"Oh, this is silly," Karen interjected. "You know his name as well as I do: Rick Thompson. It says so on his driver's license!"

"Well, actually, it doesn't. Your name is Erik Thomassen, right?" He nodded.

"And Erik Thomassen is an Anglicization of Eirik Thorvaldssen, isn't that right, Gramps?"

"Yeah it is, but so what?"

"Karen, your grandfather here owns most of this section and half of the next – including the whole town of Teal Lake and Teal Lake itself as well as the Henderson Mine."

Karen turned to look at her grandfather, stunned, her mouth open but unable to say anything.

"They all pay rent to him and it goes into a trust fund – for the next inheritor when they turn 35. That would be you, Karen."

"Some of the holdings were assigned by the King of Norway, some were purchased later, but all under the old forms of the name."

"And THAT is what Stuart Fletcher somehow discovered and was after."

Karen finally found her tongue and rushed to gramps and gave him a big hug, "Oh, Gramps! But how?"

"It seems that Rick's ancestor, back in the year 1000, was the son of Eirik den Rod – or Erik the Red… and the brother of Leif Erikssen. I think if you dig further you'll find that he also owns land in Canada, Newfoundland, Greenland and Nova Scotia."

"Gramps! Why didn't you ever tell me about your ancestors?"

"Nah! You young folks are always too busy to listen to an old man's tales!"

I chuckled, "Gramps, I think it's time you sat down with her and had a long talk, sorta add your part to the family saga."

"Oh, Please, Gramps? How many times have I asked you to tell me about the old days?"

Gramps grinned, "Well… so long as I still get to go fishing!"

"Of course you can … in fact, I will take you!"

We stood to leave and Elly wrapped her arms around my arm. Gramps and Karen joined us out on the front lawn.

As we were saying good-bye, Gramps pulled out a piece of paper I recognized as a title, "Almost forgot… Karen? Show me where to sign this thing."

Karen turned to Gramps, scowling, "Gramps! I thought you said you'd sold that old truck!" then turned to me, "And YOU said you'd bought it!" she said, poking her finger at my chest.

"Ow! Nah-I just borrowed it. But I don't need a…"

"Nonsense!" Gramps declared. "Young fellow like you! Of course you can use it!"

I started gesticulating, saying, "But I already have a jeep…" and as one of my hands passed him he slapped the deed into it.

"Well… Thank you. I really am honored, but I think this truck belongs in a museum"

"Well, I guess that's up to you now. But thank you! For everything!"

"You're very welcome!"

We got into the truck and Elly slid over next to me, "I like these bench seats! So cozy!"

I turned and kissed her, "Yeah," I said, looking in her eyes, wondering what she was thinking, thinking how beautiful and intelligent she was, wishing I didn't have to drive right now. I turned and kissed her. "Mm… maybe we should stay one more night at the hotel?"

She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me back, "What ever for?"

"Well," I said between kisses, "I'm still on vacation… and we haven't heard from Pete yet…"

"Mmhm … and we have to make arrangements for the truck… "

"Mhm… I never knew that I needed a partner… What'd I ever do without you?"

"I'll have to move back to California…"

"Mhm… Where will you live?"

Elly looked at me slyly, "Well, I suppose I could rent one of those floating houses…"

"Houseboat"

"Mhm… Houseboat…"

"Mmnhm Or, you could rent from me. After all, I'm gone half the time…"

"And the other half?" She gave me a mischievous look.

"Mm… I'm sure (kiss) we could work (kiss) something out…"

And she giggled. _Ah-h! I just will never get enough of that sound!_

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That's it, Folks! Hope you enjoyed it! Read and Review if you like!


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